Today in History–June 18–the Library of Congress features the War of 1812. On this date in 1812 President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain. Reasons for the war included frustration with Britain’s maritime practices and their support of Native American resistance to western expansion as well as a desire to conquer Canada. The war lingered on…
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the selections in the Books That Shaped America online exhibition. The curator’s note reads: This 1960 Pulitzer Prize winner was an immediate critical and financial success for its author, with more than 30 million copies in print to date. Harper Lee created one of the most…
Typically, TPS-Barat publishes four new blog posts every week on the Primary Source Nexus Teaching Resource Blog along with numerous tweets from @PSNTPS related to teaching with primary sources from the Library of Congress. To conserve program resources and recharge for next school year, we will be reducing the number of posts by half this summer. While…
India country profile: . . . extensive urbanization and trade appear to have begun in the Indus River Valley around 3000 B.C. with the Harappan civilization. From this period until the termination of British colonial rule in 1947, numerous empires ruled various portions of South Asia, often assimilating a rich array of peoples and each adding…
Find out some intriguing ways to connect to one of the most beloved stories of all times with various primary sources. The Immigrant Experience: Down the Rabbit Hole Library of Congress Relocating to a new country can be a disorienting experience. Immigrants often find themselves in a strange new world where the rules have changed,…
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Oxford and amateur photographer but he is better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll (1832-1898). Charles Lutwidge Dodgson: A Chronology of His Life The Lewis Carroll Scrapbook 1855-1898 Lewis Carroll Lewis Carroll Biography Bio The life and letters of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C.L. Dodgson) 1899…
Today in History–June 2–the Library of Congress features the Indian Citizenship Act, enacted on this date in 1924. The act finally granted official U.S. citizenship to to all Native Americans born in the U.S. But because voting rights were governed by state law, some Native American citizens were barred from voting in political elections until 1957. Find out more by visiting…
This lesson uses the Predict and Infer strategy; both the lesson and the strategy were created by elementary teacher and adjunct university instructor Kimberly Heckart, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Focus Question What did women do to get the right to vote? Content Goal Students build background knowledge of what it was like to be a suffragist and discover how women persistently fought…
Today in History–May 27–the Library of Congress features James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, born on this date in 1837 in Illinois. Hickok was involved in the Kansas free state movement and was a scout and spy for the Union during the Civil War. Later he held a number of positions in law enforcement. Find out more by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links…
This is a guest post from elementary teacher and adjunct university instructor Kimberly Heckart, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Example Lesson Literature Links: Predicting & Inferring about Woman Suffrage
Today in History–May 25–the Library of Congress features Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, born on this date in 1878. Orphaned in early childhood, Robinson started dancing at a young age and went on to become a legendary jazz tap dancer. Learn more about this mesmerizing entertainer by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below for primary sources related to…
Primary sources engage all students—elementary, middle and high school. Below are some worksheets to help elementary students, in particular, to analyze primary source images and texts. These worksheets were created in collaboration with master teacher Kimberly Heckart, who teaches third grade at Prairie Ridge Elementary in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Elementary Social Studies Methods at the University…